45 cities participate in 3rd round of Smart City challenge

NEW DELHI: A total of 45 cities have participated in the third round of Smart City challenge, of which 40 will be selected to be developed as smart cities.

The names of 40 new cities, expected to be announced by June end, will take the total smart cities count to 100.

"The mission continues to grow. 45 cities participate in Round 3 of the Smart City Challenge," said a tweet from the ministry of urban development.

The government launched its flagship '100 Smart City' mission on June 25, 2015, and announced the first list of 20 cities in January last year. It then offered a fast-track window for 23 cities rejected in the first round to upgrade their proposals, ot of which 13 cities were selected in May. The government in the second round announced the names of 27 more cities to be made smart in September last year.

The government has earmarked Rs 48,000 crore for the development of these cities.

Each selected city will be given Rs 500 crore over a period of five years by the Centre with the respective states expected to make the matching contribution.

The government has so far approved smart city plans worth Rs 1.33 lakh crore for the 60 cities.

The ministry of urban development is also preparing a report card on its Smart City mission as the scheme is set to complete two years of its launch this June.

It is compiling data under various heads, like the number of projects completed and those being implemented.